| The Evaluation/Accountability Planning Committee wishes to thank you for your continued attendance and active participation on July 31, 2013 In our efforts at school district turn-around, we look forward to your continued input, contribution, and support in getting the job done. We would like to pay special thanks and tribute to the many individuals, educational consultants, Principals, teachers, community leaders, and community organization representatives in attendance. The following individuals attended our second meeting on July 31, 2013 and took part in the deliberations and feedback. We apologize for any missed attendees and committee members not listed or whose names were missed or who may not have signed in on the attendance sheet. Dr. Doris Langon, Dr. David Morgan, Mrs. Cynthia Hudson, Dr. Larry Thomas, Mrs. Cheryl Coleman, Dr. Stephen Jones, Ms. Cynthia Butler, Mrs. Venesa Woods, Mrs. Ilene Waite, Mrs. Mary Brown, Mrs. Gail Burks, Dr. Olliver Taffe, Mrs. Robena Morgan, Ms. Shelia McCray, Mrs. Julie Grohn, Ms. Lakeisha Keenon, Mr. Nate Grant, Mr. Michael Robinson, Mrs. Karen "Penny" Kerr, Mr. Vincent Ashley, Ms. Shalonda Redfield, Mr. Anthony Wood, Mr. Danny Tolliver, Ms. Arrie Christian, Dr. Theresa Dixon, Dr. Herbert Ellis, Dr. Leonard Fourte, Mr. Edward J. Johnson, Mr. Danny Tolliver, Mrs. Renee Felker, Mr. Terrance Felker, Mr. Fulton Nolen Jr., Mrs. Cynthia Hudson, Mrs. Cheryl Mallard, Ms. Nicole McMorris, Ms. Deidre Richie, Mrs. Cheryl Rutherford, Ms. Yolanda Williams, Mr. Clifton Graham Jr., Mr. Reginald Walker, Ms. Bev Thomas, Ms. Hattie Bender, Ms. Chipporah Hightower Following the welcoming and brief explanation of our vision by Dr. David Morgan, Superintendent Dr. Doris Langon engaged and facilitated the audience by division into groups addressing the Rising Star Continuous Improvement Plan which included the role of Board-Superintendent Alignment in school improvement. The audience was then divided into Small Group Discussions addressing the significant issues of Family Involvement in our community's social resources under such topics as Parent Outreach, Involvement and Teacher-Parent Trust, etc. For feedback to the school board and superintendent, group leaders were chosen from each group for reporting out at the conclusion of group discussions addressing significant school improvement issues. On Wednesday, July 31 our Evaluation/Accountability Planning Committee met to explore topics addressing District 227's strengths and challenges. We discussed the significant issues we would like our district to address and act upon within the next school year as we move forward from tragedies and defeats of the past to an new era of successful strategic planning and broad-based stakeholder engagement. Our discussions also centered around supportive environments and involved families. Meanwhile, we will continue to work toward a data based accountability-driven vision that will allow district 227 goals and strategies to be operationalized by the staff responsible for transforming District 227 stakeholders' vision into reality. The Evaluation/Accountability Planning Committee is also working in concert with the ECRA Group who will also: (1) Collect, analyze, synthesize, and triangulate school improvement data themes by conducting individual board of education interviews, (2) Conduct focus groups with other key stakeholder populations (district administrators, school administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students, and community members, (3) Review mission, vision, and guiding principles of the school district, (4) Review archival data and reports provided by the district, (5) Administer surveys of key stakeholder populations, (6) Perform rigorous analysis of student achievement data, and (7) Assess return on investment (ROI) for programs. School improvement is challenging work. In the situation we are in today, it also requires a continuous formative/evaluation/accountability/monthly-board-superintendent-planning-meeting process with such essentials and administration-action steps involved in board-superintendent-principals-administrative-staff-involvement in MANAGEMENT BY WALKING AROUND. Without observation and real management by walking around time to observe strengths and challenges in multiple areas or with lack of an effective framework in continuous evaluation measures, continuous improvement and data-driven accountability, District 227 has struggled to improve. Researchers at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research have defined the five essential district 227 areas of organization and climate related to school improvement. The University of Chicago researchers maintained, with compelling evidence, that schools strong on these Essential are more likely to: (1) Improve student learning and attendance year after year (2) Graduate students from high school better prepared for college or careers (3) Improved student ACT and PSAE scores (4) Get students into college; and (5) Keep their teachers Schools in Rich Township High Schools completed the five essentials and the surveys indicate that District 227 is not yet organized showing weak to neutral in the following essential areas: (1) Ambitious Instruction: Classes are challenging and engaging. (Neutral). (2) Effective Leaders: Principals and teachers implement a shared vision for success (Neutral) (3) Collaborative Teachers: Teachers collaborate to promote professional growth (Weak). (4) Involved Families: The entire staff builds strong external relationships (Weak). (5) Supportive Environment: The school is safe, demanding, and supportive. (Weak) Our Evaluation/Accountability Planning Committee's future meeting dates and times are as follows: (1) Wednesday, August 14, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. (2) Wednesday, August 28, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. In creating the future and in our strategic planning for school district 227, we thank you again for attending our school improvement sessions. We look forward to your continued participation and feedback in our community's continued school improvement initiative toward completing addressing these five essentials of school improvement with community participation and feedback. Every school board and school district must recognize the importance of supportive and involved parents and community. School boards that involve the broader citizenry through effective community engagement activities have had the greatest success in garnering broad support for the five school improvement essentials. School-community-collaboration-engagement can generate and bring into schools additional social, emotional, and experiential resources that can raise student achievement performance to new heights unattainable by superintendent, principals, and teachers working alone. Kindest regards,
David E. Morgan, Ph.D., Educational Leadership
Board Member and Chair of Continuous Evaluation Committee Rich Township High School District 227 Olympia Fields, Illinois 60461 VISION WITHOUT ACTION IS MERELY A DREAM. ACTION WITHOUT VISION JUST PASSES THE TIME. VISION WITH ACTION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. |
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